Gothic Classics by Horace Walpole and Clara Reeve is a 2022 Poisoned Pen publication.

Poisoned Pen Press has been releasing some of the more obscure British Crime Library mysteries in digital format, which is just awesome. I’m so happy these mostly forgotten gems have been saved, reformatted into digital form, and is reaching new audiences. Like their work with mysteries, there is an audience for horror classics that have also been out of print or forgotten over time.

This collection contains two old Gothic classics:

The Castle of Otranto and The Old English Baron.

Anyone with an interest in Gothic literature, in all its various melodramas, will have heard of at least one of these stories. I think it’s great that the publisher placed these two early Gothic novels together in one book, the reason being that they are connected by style and format. Clara Reeve, the author of ‘The Old English Baron’, claimed her novel was the literary offspring of ‘The Castle of Ontranto.” Both novels combine romance with a ‘contemporary novel’ and sports the ridged rules of Gothic literature.

The Castle of Ontranto has been deemed the first Gothic novel- though some will argue it might be a precursor-so that alone should give it a place in history.

The story is absolutely over the top and beyond the pale in terms of believability. There’s a haunted castle, an ancient prophesy, intense melodrama, and tragedy. This style is one that is utilized in many other popular novels - such as ‘Dracula’, as an example. The influence this novel provided to more accepted literary works, should give it some credence and is therefore undeserving of some of the shrill criticisms it endures today. But then there were criticisms long before now…

The Old English Baron, on the other hand, is an attempt by Clara Reeve to give the Gothic tales a more literary approach. Reeve felt the need to correct the issues she discerned in The Castle of Ontantro. She lays out her critique of TCOO in the preface of her book. Her opinion is that the use of supernatural elements is overdone in Walpole’s book, and her novel, while still adding those elements, are toned down so that they are more believable.

The result, unfortunately, is a dull book that doesn’t even have the entertainment value of ‘Ontrantro’.


Granted, these stories do not measure up to our present-day standards, which explains the poor marks by some modern readers. Yet, I feel it is unfair to judge these stories through a modern lens. This style of writing has, of course, fallen out of favor, but these novels still hold a place in the history of Gothic novels and I’m glad they have been re-released for the sake of prosperity, if nothing else.

Overall, while I agree with Reeve that the supernatural content of ‘Ontantro’ is overwrought and unbelievable, at least today we can find humor in it. The same can’t be said of The Old English Baron, but I’m glad we have both books available in one volume to compare and study.

4 stars for the preservation of these novels and for combining them into one volume.

3.5 stars for The Castle of Ontantro- which is, a re-read for me.

2 stars for The Old English Baron- as Reeve failed to ‘correct’ the failures of ‘Ontantro’ in my humble opinion. ( )